Latest news with #PatrickVereb
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Owners of pets lost in alleged funeral home scam come together for closure
Pet owners of an alleged cremation scam shared their stories, shed some tears and grieved together Sunday evening so that they can hopefully start to heal. 'This is Gotti,' one woman said. Another woman said, 'This is Tinkerbell.' One by one, people talked about their fur babies, and once again, cried and mourned their losses. 'This is Buddy,' a woman said through tears. 'This is killing me. He threw my baby in the garbage.' The pain became more unbearable after Tiffany Mantzouridis, a former employee of Eternity Pet Memorial, helped bring the disturbing allegations to light last month. PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Former employee reporting suspicions to police led to charges against Pittsburgh funeral home owner 'It's hard for me to process how somebody could do that because I got into this because I'm an empathetic person and I ended up in a position working for somebody who is the complete opposite of that,' Mantzouridis said. Eternity Pet Memorial Owner Patrick Vereb is accused of scamming people who paid for pet cremations and burials. Instead, the AG's office said he threw more than 6,500 pets into landfills then gave owners ashes from other animals. PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Pittsburgh funeral home owner accused of dumping pets in landfill instead of cremating them Pattie Levay cremated at least 11 dogs through Vereb from 2021 to 2024, the time period of the investigation. She believes 25 of her dogs could be in landfills. 'The first three days, I would have nightmares that they were trying to get out of the landfill, and I would see the bulldozer coming and just bulldoze them down and hear their screams,' Levay said. Levay organized Sunday's memorial to honor all the lost pets and try to give their owners closure. PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Woman holding memorial service for pets sent to funeral home owner accused of dumping pets 'My whole life has been dedicated to animals and knowing that I failed them, that I failed them so horrendously that they ended up in landfills, and this is why I'm doing this because I need help with my healing,' Levay said, choking back tears. Heather Sphar of Charleroi said the ashes she has do not belong to her beloved Trixie. 'That's not her. I got the email saying that that's not her,' Sphar said. 'Heartbroken, sad, emotional. You do it because you want their remains to be with you the rest of your life and knowing that I don't have her just breaks my heart.' Dozens of people came to the pavilion behind the Kingston Club for a pet blessing and to say goodbye one last time. Then, they sent bubbles up to their pets in heaven. But what most of the pet owners want is to do right by their best friend. 'I'm angry because I don't have her,' Sphar said. 'We all want justice for what he has done, and I think he needs to rot in jail,' Vereb is out on bail and is scheduled for an arraignment on June 18. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
CBS News
19-05-2025
- CBS News
Victims of funeral home cremains case hold memorial for lost pets
Pet owners who say they are victims of funeral director Patrick Vereb gathered together at a memorial in Latrobe to share their collective pain and find healing in one another. Everyone came with their own story of a pet they lost, who'd they thought they had the ashes of. Instead, they said their pets were among the thousands who prosecutors say were simply thrown out in a landfill. "I was like, 'Oh, my God, oh my God, he took my baby, and threw him away.' It's not right, how could somebody do that, how could somebody do that," said one woman who spoke during the event. Patty and Jason Patrick were grieving what happened to their dog, who came from an abusive family. "[Vereb] threw him in a landfill, kind of like his life began, forgotten and abandoned, and it just tears my heart out," Jason Patrick said. Patty described her dog as their "cuddle buddy" as she fought cancer. Patti Levay organized the event. She said she sent multiple deceased pets to Vereb's Eternity Pet Memorial. He's charged with eight counts of deceptive or fraudulent business practices plus other felonies. "I live with the nightmares of my animals in landfills, being bulldozed over and over again, and hearing them scream in pain," Levay said. Father Justin Matro blessed many of the pets in attendance. "The fact is, no matter what has happened with their own bodies, the love you have for those pets is a sign of their ongoing life with you," Matro said. Rather than close by releasing balloons, Levay said they blew bubbles, sending a message of love to their pets in heaven.
CBS News
16-05-2025
- CBS News
State lawmakers working to add regulations to pet cremation industry
Pennsylvania lawmakers are trying to add regulations to the pet cremation industry to protect animals. Emotions have been running high since Patrick Vereb, the owner of Vereb Funeral Home and Eternity Pet Memorial, was charged with throwing out the bodies of over 6,500 pets and giving their owners the ashes of other animals. State Sen. Nick Pisciottano heard about the allegations on the news. "One of my constituents I talked to said it was like grieving her lost pet a second time," Pisciottano said. "Once we heard of the reporting, we decided to take a look at state law and found that there's a huge gap here," he added. The cremation of pets is not mentioned in Pennsylvania law. The industry is unregulated. "Consumers who are taking their pets to be cremated or paying money for those services, it means a lot," he said. "There should be some protections in place to make sure that they're safe from being ripped off." Lawmakers want law enforcement to be able to hold people accountable for not following the rules. Pisciottano said lawmakers are working on the language of the legislation now and hope to shore it up in the next few weeks. "There's already a state law called the Unfair Trade Practices law, which really is a catch-all for all these industry-specific issues. And so, we think we're going to add another section that basically says if you're providing pet services, you have to adhere by these rules." State lawmakers will also look to other states and see if they can use that as a guide for the language of this new legislation. Funeral directors are regulated by the state, so lawmakers are looking at potential license removals and penalties. But they also want to hold people accountable who handle cremations but are not funeral directors. It will also give law enforcement new options when it comes to charges against anyone who commits these crimes.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State lawmaker plans to introduce legislation regulating handling of pet remains by funeral homes
State lawmakers are preparing a first-of-its-kind legislation in Pennsylvania, seeking a regulatory framework around pet funeral home services. We spoke with people who say it's bittersweet as they are still reeling from the actions of Vereb Funeral Home and Eternity Pet Memorial. PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Pittsburgh funeral home owner accused of dumping pets in landfill instead of cremating them 'If nothing else, it makes me feel good that there is some sort of justice for my dog and other pet owners that are victims of this person's heinous crimes,' said Maria Briggs, who is a victim of the Vereb Funeral Home actions. She thinks of her late dog Ellie often, especially after her name was on one of the many lists of pets the Attorney General said were wrongfully dumped in a landfill by Patrick Vereb. Now, this legislation is being proposed in the State Senate to keep this from happening again. 'I certainly hope that justice is going to be served, Briggs said. 'I hope that this Patrick Vereb gets what he deserves.' Vereb is accused of dumping over 6,500 pets into a landfill after owners paid hundreds of dollars for the cremation of their pets. The memo about the bill, which will be known as Holding Funeral Homes Accountable for Pet Cremations, says it's an effort to 'create an offense related to misrepresenting the disposal of animal remains and include additional penalties on funeral directors and their licenses for violating this act. ' Senator Nick Pisciottano (D-45) serves as Co-Chairman of the Animal Protection Caucus. He said when he heard about the case, he couldn't help but think of his two rescue dogs. 'We have actually gone to funeral homes to get our dogs cremated in the past. So, it really struck a personal tone with me and a lot of our constituents talked about actually having to grieve their lost pets a second time,' Pisciottano said. There is no timeline for when the bill will be introduced or reach the Governor's desk, but Pisciottano hopes it will move quickly as it has support from both sides of the aisle. A class action lawsuit was filed at the Allegheny County Courthouse against funeral home owner Patrick Vereb. He is also facing state charges and is currently out on bail. Vereb is scheduled for an arraignment on June 18 at 2 p.m. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
CBS News
09-05-2025
- CBS News
Car parked at Vereb Funeral Home in Harrison Township smashed by baseball bat
People begin to learn their pets were part of Pittsburgh funeral home case People begin to learn their pets were part of Pittsburgh funeral home case People begin to learn their pets were part of Pittsburgh funeral home case A car parked behind Vereb Funeral Home was damaged with a baseball bat, but police said the car belongs to a resident who doesn't have any ties to the business, which has been facing public backlash after the owner was charged in a $650,000 pet remains scheme. In a Facebook post on Friday, Harrison Township police said they were called to the rear parking lot of Vereb Funeral Home on Freeport Road to investigate a report of criminal mischief. Police said a nearby resident, who isn't affiliated with the funeral home, had parked their vehicle in the lot, and someone smashed it "with an apparent baseball bat" sometime overnight between Wednesday and Thursday. Investigators are now asking anyone who saw anything suspicious to call Harrison Township police and ask to speak with Officer Condron. Emotions run high in pet cremains case Emotions have been running high since Patrick Vereb, the owner of Vereb Funeral Home and Eternity Pet Memorial, was charged with throwing out the bodies of over 6,500 pets and giving their owners the ashes of other animals. Pet owners have been left with questions, wondering whether they have their pets remains, and some have questioned if they even have ashes. Through about 20 veterinary practices and businesses, prosecutors said Vereb collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from pet owners who were promised a private cremation for their pet. But instead of performing the services, investigators said Vereb threw many of the pets out at a landfill, giving customers the ashes of other unknown animals. Vereb is facing felony counts of theft by deception, receiving stolen property and deceptive business practices.
